Freo locals can look forward to an extra hour of sunshine – and business have even more time to get the deal done thanks to a bold Council decision to create a new time zone in the Port City.
No stranger to taking the lead on innovative or challenging issues, the City of Fremantle will become the first WA council to change to daylight savings time.
Mayor Brad Pettitt today announced the City’s plan to move to ‘Freo Time’, saying enough was enough.
“The clear feedback we are getting from many businesses around Fremantle, especially those in the tourism and marine sectors is that doing business with the East Coast on a 3 hour time difference is making them increasingly uncompetitive,” Mayor Pettitt said.
“Fremantle changing the time within its municipal boundaries to daylight savings time will reduce the time difference to two hours and give our businesses a competitive advantage compared to their counterparts around WA.”
Mayor Pettitt acknowledged the decision may generate some controversy as people will need to adjust to Freo Time as they come and go. But he was confident the benefits would far outweigh any potential inconvenience.
“Residents and visitors alike will have longer evenings to enjoy our great beaches, café and bars,” he said.
Digital screens will display Freo Time on all major entry points into Fremantle while the City’s parking officers will also assist people to adjust their watches. Clocks displayed in public places will be adjusted to Freo Time.
Mayor Pettitt said the City would only consider bringing in a new Local Law to ensure compliance if this was absolutely necessary.
“We are confident that this will be supported by the vast majority of our community and hope that our leadership on this issue will prompt other councils to follow suit,” he said.
“Just as Fremantle led the way with a ban on plastic bags and on debates around Australia Day, I believe that we are showing the way on this and we hope the rest of the state isn’t far behind.”
‘Freo Time’ will come into place in October 2019 until March 2020 as the first year of a two-year trial. Community input will be sought at the end of each trial period.
